The right influencers can make or break brands: Terry Peigh

Interview with Terry Peigh, managing director, Interpublic Group

Influencer marketing, advocacy and reputation management are key means to promote brands today, Terry Peigh tells Sangeeta Tanwar.

What are the key India findings of your global research study, “UnderNew Realities”, published by IPG in partnership with FCB Cogito India?

The Indian consumer today probably is the most passionate, involved and evolved. She gets more satisfaction from the brand than consumers in other global markets. For Indian consumers, the engagement with brands they use is much higher and joyful than others. What surprises us most about them is their increasing social currency. Increasingly, they are sharing more information on social media, they are eager to talk about the products they use to others family members and friends. From a marketing perspective such a receptive audience is important. Marketers can use information provided by consumers to build personal relationships with them and further the brand cause.

The challenging part though is that increasingly consumers want more from their brands. The Indian consumer is demanding much more transparency, honesty and quality from the brands that they endorse. All this is putting greater strain on manufacturers, advertisers and marketers to deliver more and work harder to create great excitement and reputation around the brands.

How is the Indian consumers’ changing profile impacting the communication strategy of advertisers and marketing companies including yours?

The first thing is to embrace the value and importance of changing consumer preferences. Next, we need to find and look for the right influencers who can promote brands. And all this is a lot of hard work because consumers are looking out for absolute trust. As agencies we need to invest in professionals who can serve clients effectively by finding the right influencers. Also, advocacy, reputation management and brand endorsement are other key ways of reaching out to and engaging consumers. Influencer marketing is growing in a big way. Today, there is no single solution to address client needs. Even when it comes to leveraging influencers and celebrities to woo consumers, one has to study each country, its culture and economy to arrive at the right combination of communication tools to promote a brand. For example, celebrity endorsement is big in a few countries for industries such as food and beverage. But there are countries where such a strategy will not be effective.

What are the new capabilities that are crucial for you as an advertising and media powerhouse to help clients grow their business?

Investing in data is a priority. The number of data points that has to be tracked, monitored and processed has gone up exponentially. First, we need to understand how best to gather and assess different data points. For that, we need to develop expertise in analytics. It’s only then that our media delivery to clients will improve. Secondly, we are also focused on arriving at more relevant and accurate measurement solutions. For example, a lot of our work in analytics is focused on the point of sales. The industry today actively tracks retailers and grocers to know more about the buying habits of consumers. There is a greater focus on who’s reading and watching what. Technology is helping marketers track when consumers are going out and where. Cutting edge data analytics is the key to serving clients better.

Companies like Accenture are increasingly stepping in to spaces that are traditionally dominated by advertising and media agencies. Do you see it as a threat?

In many ways specialisation of Accenture is different from what we do. They are building out great technology. Our work on the other hand continues to be driven by the creative factor. Messaging, planning and strategic execution continues to be a significant part of the work that we do. We are in the communication business where quality of ideas and grand proposition continue to matter.